How to Care for an Elfling
by A.Wonder1
Summary: All children are born with ignorance. The only way for them to learn is through experience and interactions with the world around them. The same is true for elven children; only some concepts are a bit more challenging to grasp. Little legolas is now having some first experiences and interactions of his own. What happens when his escort is killed and he is found by men?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one**

"Aurgell? You can wake up now, Aurgell. Please, wake up now. The monsters are gone now, we can go home," The teary eyed elfling said as he shook the shoulder of one of the nonresponsive warriors. Upon getting no reaction from the guard, he turned to another warrior on the ground and tried to get a reaction from him instead.

"Stop it, please. You're scaring me! Wake up. I want to go home to Ada, please," He went around to each of the seven warriors, repeating the same plea to all of them, only getting more desperate when he was only answered with silence.

Finally the little elfling went back to his caretaker and fell to his knees beside him. "Gradow, please wake up. We need to go home," he sobbed. He laid his little head down on to the warrior's unmoving chest and continued to sob, as he watched Aurgell's face for any sign of waking.

 _What do I do now?_ The little elfling thought. He remembered his Ada telling him to always stay with his guard, so that is what he would do. Surely they all just needed a little rest, then they would all wake up and they could go home tomorrow.

Not after too long the little elfling finally succumb to his exhaustion, and curled up next to his caretaker with his head pillowed on the warrior's, cold, unmoving chest. His eyes glazed over into elven sleep, as his mind wandered off into dreams of home.

After a while the elfling finally woke up, only to curl back up in pain. Now that he was relaxed and the adrenaline had a chance to leave his system; he acutely felt the pain in the back of his head, where one of the monsters had clubbed him.

 _It made me go to sleep._ He remembered. _Maybe Aurgell got whacked on the head too. That's why they are all still sleeping, They are sleepy because they have owies. But I have an owie too._ He remembered as his poor little head throbbed with each beat of his heart.

"Please wake up Aurgell. Please make my owie not ouchie," he begged, as he once again tried to shake the guard awake. He took the guard's hand and started to cry out of fear and confusion as the hand felt oddly cold and stiff, not warm and lax as it usually did when he took his caretaker's hand.

Just then, the elfling's ears perked up as he heard a sound coming from the woods around the clearing. He hid next to his caretaker in fear as he identified the sounds as footsteps and voices. However the voices were speaking in the common tongue, a language the elfling had yet to learn, and the steps were much too heavy to be that of an elf's.

"Please, wake up! Please," he cried quietly into his caretaker's ear, as a small group of men finally appeared into the clearing.

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"Damm," One of the men breathed, as he caught sight of the bodies of the mirkwood patrol. "Check for survivors," He ordered, as he went over to the nearest warrior. He knelt down, and gently placed his fingers on the warrior's neck to check for a pulse. Finding none, he respectfully closed the warrior's eyes before moving onto the next.

"Fonter! There's a younging over here!" a tall red haired man called. Fonter looked over in the direction of the shouter to see that indeed, a tiny elfling was clinging fearfully to one of the clearly deceased.

"Give 'im some space. Poor thing looks on the verge of fainting from frigh'," he ordered, as he saw some of the other men approach out of curiosity. None of them have ever seen an elven child before.

The elfling started to tremble from fright, and shook the dead guard's arm urgently, as large fear filled tears rolled down his angelic face. Slowly, Fonter approached the child with his hands out, like how one might approach a frightened animal, and held what he hoped was a calming smile on his face.

"Easy there lad. There's no need to be afraid. We're not 'bout to hurt ya," He soothed, as he held out his hands in a way that asked for the child's permission to be picked up.

This only seemed to scare the child even more, as he placed his hands over his head in defence with his eyes squeezed shut. With his arms out in the open and no longer on the warrior, Fonter and the other men could easily see blood coating the tiny hands. It was impossible to discern whether it was the child's own blood or not.

Alarmed, Fonter carefully reached out and took the child's wrists. He screeched in fright, and desperately tried to pull away, but Fonter gently held the squirming child close to him, and pulled the tiny hands over to himself so that he could see them.

Gently, he pulled the whaling elfling into his lap, with the child's back pressed against his own broad chest, and started to clean the blood away with a swath of cloth from his pocket.

He was relieved to find no injuries on the tiny hands, but upon looking back down at the terrified child, he discovered some more blood weeping from the back of his head, staining the golden strands of his hair crimson.

Fonter then gently yet securely wrapped one of his arms around the child's chest to hold him still, as his other hand parted the soft locks to see what damage was done. The elfling only shrieked in both pain and fright and thrashed around even harder in the restrictions of the man's arm.

"BAW! BAW! DAR!" The child shrieked before choking on his sobs of fright.

"Fonter, stop. You're jus' scarein' the poor thing," the red headed man said, as he watched the heart breaking scene.

"What do expect me to do, Beraddes? He's injured, an' if I let 'im go, he might jus' run off an' get 'imself hurt, or even worse, killed," he protested, as he adjusted his hold on the elfling to get a more secure grasp on the wriggling body.

"I think I've got somethin' that migh' help. It's this stuff I got from the healers to rub on my own younin' before bed. It doesn't actually put 'em to sleep, but it does work in calmin' and making 'em a bit on the drowsy side. It won't hurt 'im none. If you can get 'im out of his tunic, I can rub some of the stuff on his chest. Maybe then we can do somethin' about that wound of his," Beraddes proposed, as he slung his pack off of his shoulder to retrieve the jar that contained the soothing cream.

Fonter nodded in agreement to the plan, and gently started to pull up the dark green material that made up the elfling's tunic. The elfling shrieked in terror as he felt himself being disrobed, and leaned forwards to sink his little teeth into the man's arm. Fonter grunted in pain as the little one sunk his teeth in with surprising strength; enough strength to break the skin and make him bleed. But Fonter held firm and didn't loosen his grip in the slightest.

Beraddes came to his rescue by gently pressing down on the little one's jaw in just the right place to make him release his grip.

"Now now, there's no need to bite," he chastised, as he took the stopper from the bottle, releasing a soothing aroma in the air. He then carefully poured some of the creamy lotion into his hand and began to massage it into the child's skin while Fonter held the child imobile. Seeing as the bottle was snuggled up to the man's side while in the pack, it had an unintended warmth to it, adding to its soothing properties.

After only about five minutes, the elfing ceased his struggling, and his sobs of fright were reduced to silent tears, however he still remained tense in Fonter's grasp.

"It's startin' to work. We should take a quick look at his head, then get on outta here. We gotta get back to the village and 'im to safety," Beraddes said, as he tenderly rearranged the child in Fonter's lap so that he could get a clear view of the back of his head.

He carefully felt around the child's head, looking for any unnatural bumps or divots that would indicate a fractured skull. Fortunately he felt none.

"I'll wrap it up for now, but once we get to the village, we need see about gettin' some stitches put in," he said, as he pulled some bandages from his bag and wrapped them around the child's head to create a headband of sorts.

"Looks good enough for now. I'll ride with 'im, and then he can stay with me. Erima has been sayin' that she's been missing takin' care of kids ever since our son moved out to be on his own. She'll be more than happy to have 'im around to take care of," Fonter said, as he observed Beraddes handy work. Beraddes nodded in agreement.

"I would take 'im in, but we just don't got the room. I'll bring my little boy over at some point though. He migh' feel a bit better with someone his own age around. You should probably take the lotion too. My kid doesn't need it as much as he does right now."

With that said he slipped the bottle into Fonter's bag and rounded up the men to get moving again. While the two of them were distracted by the elfling, the rest of the men had collected the deceased warriors' weapons to give to the families, and buried the bodies deep enough to keep scavengers from trying to dig them back up.

Fonter carefully lifted the now sleepy child up into his arms and carried him over to his horse. He handed the elfling over to Beraddes while he mounted up, and then reached back out to take up the child once more. He sat the child down sideways on the saddle in front of him and gently wrapped a secure arm around him to keep him from slipping down.

"Alright men, let's move out," he called, as he steered his large chestnut colored stallion in the direction of home.

After a while of riding, he felt the child lean back into his chest. He looked down to see the elfling's mouth slightly open and his eyes half lidded with a glazed over, vacant look. He smiled as he came to the realization that the little one had fallen into the elven version of sleep. He had heard of the way that elves sleep, but never got to see it in person before, and he found himself oddly intrigued by it.

 _I wonder how his eyes don't get dry_. He thought, as he gently wrapped his cloak around the little one to keep him warm.

Night was fast approaching, and with it came the sudden nipping cold of late fall. The horses' hooves crunched slightly as he trotted over the fallen leaves, then quickly turned into a clopping sound as they went over a small wooden bridge expanding over a small creek to reach a cozy looking home nestled between a couple ancient oaks.

A tall sturdy woman opened the door of the cottage to greet the home comers. The light of the fire slipped past her to illuminate the front yard, as well as cast a silhouette of her figure.

"Fonter! I'm glad you're finally home," She said, as she stepped down from the house to accompany her husband to the Barn.

"Me too, Love. Me too. But Erima, I need to tell ya about what happen today. It's important," The man said, as he carefully slipped down from the proud stallion, with his cloak gently nestled in the crook of his left arm, and held securely against his chest.

"What is that?" Erima gasped, as she saw something move sluggishly in the confines of the cloak.

Fonter looked down at the small bundle held in his arm, before gently pulling away at the fabric that hid the tiny figure from view; careful not to wake him.

Erima covered her mouth with one hand to stifle a gasp as she beheld the tiny blonde haired creature enfolded within the warm cloak. She then reached out and gently snatched the precious bundle away from her husband to press him against her own bosom. She gave a distressed sigh as she noticed the slight red stain on the back of the bandaged head.

"Poor babe," she cooed. "You take care of that horse, then come in and tell me what happened," she ordered, as she turned and swiftly carried the elfling into the warm house.

With all of the shifting of positions and fussing hands, it was no surprise when the child's eyes cleared as he returned to the waking world. He blinked lazily as he looked around the room he was in, before suddenly sitting up, as fear started to creep back over him at the sight of the unfamiliar room.

"Easy now. It's alright," she cooed to the skittish child. His head whipped around to look at her, before his eyes widened at the sight of a stranger holding him in her arms. He shrieked and started to struggle fiercely in her grasp.

"Alright. Alright," she said, as she hurriedly set the terrified child down on a cushioned couch. He scooted himself back into a corner on the couch before grabbing the cloak and pulling it over himself to hide under.

She gave a pitiful laugh, finding the sight both adorable and sad at the same time. It felt like watching a kitten cry.

"Peace child. Peace. I won't hurt you none. I just want look at your head," she soothed, while gently sitting down on the couch next to him.

She made no move to touch him. Simply sitting quietly next to him, letting him take his time to calm down. Eventually, Fonter entered the house and took note of the slight standoff. Erima simply waved him away to clean up a bit. He was rather filthy, and the child only seemed more tense with his presence.

Finally, after nearly an hour of sitting all scrunched up in the corner; the little elfling seemed to tire of being scared, and allowed himself to finally relax. Seeing the visible change in the child; Erima slowly reached over and gently pulled the cloak away so she could see him better. He watched her wearily, but didn't pull away when she reached to tenderly run her hand over the silken locks on his head.

"See? You have nothing to fear little one," she whispered, as she pulled herself closer to him so that she could remove the bandage wrapped around his head and see what damage had been done.

"How bad is it?" Fonter asked quietly from the end of the room.

Erima looked up, a bit surprised that she hadn't heard him walk into the room. Thankfully though, the elfling didn't startle at Fonter's presence. He just seemed too tired to truly care anymore.

"It's not too bad. It stopped bleeding, so it won't need stitches. I just need to clean it up and wrap it back up again," She replied, as she gently smoothed the child's hair back.

"Good," Fonter smiled. He walked over to them and knelt down in front of the elfling. The child shied away from him slightly, but otherwise remained calm. "Don't you worry none. We're going to take good care of you until we can get you home," he soothed.

While he was talking to the elfling, Erima got up and went about wetting a rag with warm water to clean the wound on the child's head, as well as a medicated tea to help with the pain.

"Hold still, babe," she said, as the child pulled away from her, with a small whimper of pain. She then gently bathed the back of the child's head with the warm water, cleaning the blood away as well as disinfecting the wound. The child squirmed a bit while she treated the wound, but did his best to stay still.

Once she had rewrapped his head with a fresh bandage, she then tried to coax him into drinking the tea she had, but he stubbornly refused the drink by turned his head away. Fonter even tried to get the child to drink, but he simply wouldn't give in.

"Alright, have it your way then." Erima finally relented as she set the mug to the side. She then went about making a nest of some sort out of blankets and pillows around the elfling so that he couldn't just roll off of the couch in the middle of the night.

"I'll get a proper bed for 'im tomorrow, but for now, he should be jus' fine," she said as she and Fonter watched together as the child snuggled down and curled himself around one of larger pillows. Fonter smiled at the child's cuteness and pulled one of the blankets higher up to rest on the child's shoulders and tucked under his chin.

"We should be gettin' to bed too," Fonter said, as he gently reached around to rest his hand on his wife's hip.

She smiled as she turned to give him a quick peck on the lips. "You did a good thing today," she praised. And with that, they left the child to sleep on the couch as they went to get some sleep themselves.

 **TBC.**

 **Translation:**

 **Aurgell**

 **(Aur-gell)- morning joy**

 **Gradow- Brother by heart**

 **Ada- Dad**

 **Baw- No**

 **Dar- stop**

 **Thanks for reading. Since you took the time to read the story, I sincerely ask you to please take two seconds and tell me if you liked it. I'm happy with anything, even something as simple as a smiley face.**

 **I am also open to suggestions. What do you want to see happen? Let me know and I'll see if it can be done.**

 **Thanks for reading, and happy Fourth of July.**

 **You are a beautiful person. ;)**


	2. What's your name?

**Chapter two**

Amidst the sound of booming thunder and pounding rain, the sound of light footsteps pacing up and down the length of the room could be heard. Behind the barrier of the balcony doors and within the safety of his chambers, Thranduil Elf king winced as he watched the rain fall heavily from the night skies to the ground below. Somewhere out there, his tiny elfling was making his home journey after visiting 'Uncle' Elrond in Rivendell.

Another ominous boom filled the sky and Thranduil closed his eyes in worry. Legolas was too young to be out in a storm like this. He was still too young to understand that the loud sounds in the skies would cause him no harm, and as long as he stayed inside, then the flashes of light could actually be quite pretty.

He could recall the last time there was a storm like this. He had been woken in the middle of the night by a tiny bundle wrapped up tightly in a blanket catapulting itself into his bed next to him; burrowing under the blankets to press up against him.

He had then groggily looked down to see his little baby elfling shaking violently with fear and large pitiful tears streaming down his cheeks. With another crack of thunder, the elfling squeaked miserably and buried his face into his Ada's chest.

"Please, Ada! Don't let the monsters get me!" He sobbed.

There was another crash and Thranduil suddenly felt something warm and wet seeping into the fabric of his leggings. His sleepy mind puzzled over the odd feeling for a moment before realizing that his baby had wet himself in his fright. With a tired yet sympathetic sigh, he got up out of bed with his little elfling trembling in his arms. He then quickly changed his and Legolas' clothes before calling in a sleepy eyed maid to change the sheets on his bed.

He spent a good portion of the night just pacing around in his chambers, while gently bouncing his child in his arms, and whispering soft words into his tiny ears. Legolas kept his face hidden in Thranduil's broad chest and his hands fisted in his Ada's hair.

Eventually though, the elfling tired himself out, and Thranduil was able to then carefully lie back down in bed with his elfling snuggled up against his chest, and his hair still fisted in the child's hands. He didn't mind though. So long as his elfling felt safe with his Ada.

Now though- in the present- his elfling was too far away for him to protect. He just had to hope and trust that Aurgell and the other elves that made up the princes' escort were keeping him safe and calm throughout the storm.

He wasn't expecting his son to be home for at least another two days, but now with this storm, it could easily be three days before he saw his beloved child again.

"Wherever you may be my son, I pray to the Valar to keep you safe," he whispered, as he watched another flash of lightning illuminate the sky.

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Fonter woke up bright and early as he always did and glanced over at his still sleeping wife. He smiled broadly at the sight and landed a quick peck on her cheek before rolling out of bed and getting dressed for the day.

He entered the next room, and frowned as he saw the elfling sleeping fitfully of the couch. He then quietly padded over to him and carefully sat down next to him, debating whether or not he should wake the child, and how to wake him if he should chose that course of action.

However, he was saved from making a decision as his wife stumbled sleepily out of their room. She quickly analyzed the situation before speaking with a great yawn. "Let the poor thing sleep for as long as he would like. The sleep would do 'im some good, I'd recon."

He nodded, and then went outside to do some early morning chores before breakfast. The child stayed asleep until he woke to the smell of cooking meat. He yawned widely and rubbed a tiny fist over his eyes to help clear them of sleep.

Erima glanced over at him from her place at the stove, alerted to his state of wakefulness by the small sounds of his stirring. She smiled at the sight of him; all sleepy eyed and hair sticking out in odd directions. She stayed where she was, waiting to see how he would react to his new environment, and hoping that by acting calm and casual, that he too would stay calm.

He blinked a few times in confusion then his eyes widened in fear as a startled gasp passed over his lips. He pulled the blankets closer to himself and scrunched down into them as his eyes darted around the unfamiliar room. Erima stayed calm and collected, continuing to cook and allowing the child to look around without the 'threat' of her hovering over him.

His eyes eventually landed on her as she carried on with her morning activities of cooking, cleaning, and setting the table. She glanced over at him and smiled as his eyes briefly met her's, before he ducked back down to hide in his sheets.

Eventually though, she knew that she had to check on his wound.

 _Well, now is as good as a time then any._ She thought, as she finished setting the table.

She then cooled down some hot water so that it wouldn't burn the child, then set a clean rag over the side of the bowl. She glanced back at him again to see him carefully peeking over his blankets at her.

With a gentle smile gracing her lips, she slowly walked across the room towards him.

"Good morning, Honey. I just wanna take a quick peek at your little head again. No need to be scared," she cooed, as she made her way over to him. He squeaked fearfully and dove back under the blankets.

She gave another pitting laugh before sitting next to him on the couch. With a soft touch, she pulled the blankets away just enough to get to his head. He kept his face hidden as she gently removed the old bandage and cleaned his head once again before redressing it.

"You're such a brave boy," she praised, just as Fonter re entered the home after doing his morning chores.

He smiled as he saw his wife attending to the child he had found. "I see he's awake now. How's he doin'?" he asked as he hung his cloak back up by the door.

"He's still a bit on the skittish side, but head looks really good," she replied. With that, she gently yet firmly scooped him up in her arms and walked him over to one of the spots at the table. He squawked upon being picked up, but remained statue still in her arms. She then sat him down in one of the chairs while Fonter sat down in the chair across from him.

Erima then dished up three plates with the food she had prepared, setting them down at the table before taking her spot next to the child.

"Thank you, Darling. This looks great," Fonter praised, before digging into his sausage and eggs.

She smiled at him before glancing over at the elfling to see how he was fairing. He was eyeing the food wearily and made no move to touch it. She frowned, but decided to give him a couple minutes before addressing the issue. She ate her own food and glanced back at the child after several minutes, only to discover that there was no change in his demeanor.

"Fonter, he's not eatin'," she worried, as the child fidgeted nervously in his seat.

The man looked up across the table at the child to see that indeed, the child was not even touching his food.

"Just give 'im some time. All children eat when they get hungry enough," he dismissed, as he finished his own food.

She nodded a bit uncertainly, but didn't argue. After the meal, she cleared away the two empty plates along with the child's full one before sitting back down.

"So. What are we goin' do with 'im?" she asked, as she glanced down at the shifting child.

Fonter gave a long sigh, as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not entirely sure to be honest, but I kind of have an idea. Now, it's too dangerous for us to try and take 'im back into the forest ourselves. We don't got warriors in our village, we've only got farmers. But the Rangers always stop by every spring. I know spring is a long time off, but if we keep 'im till then, then we can ask the Rangers to take 'im home, or at least go and tell the elves that we have one of their youngins, and they can send a patrol out to pick 'im up."

She nodded thoughtfully, considering the idea. "It seems like that could work, but he needs to get used to us if he's gonna stay all winter long," She said.

He nodded once before standing up. "It's a plan then, unless we can figure something else out."

He walked back over to the door and slung his cloak over his shoulders, preparing to go back out again, but paused when his wife called to him.

"You should take 'im out with you. The fresh air migh' do 'im some good," She said, as she rummaged around in a wooden chest and pulled out one of their son's old cloaks. She quickly slipped it onto the elfling and looked him over with a critical eye. The cloak was far too big for him, and would drag on the ground behind him, but for now it would do.

Fonter shrugged and stepped out the door then stood to the side, waving for the child to follow him. With a gentle nudge from Erima, the elfling slid down from his chair and took one hesitant step towards the door. When nothing happened, he took a couple more. He glanced over his shoulder once at her, before looking back at the door and slinking towards it. He reminded her a lot of a wary cat, crouching low and slowly stalking his way across the floor.

He finally reached the door, and glanced up at Fonter as he walked past him outside. Fonter smiled down at the boy before waving to his wife and closing the door. He smiled again and reached down to ruffle the boy's hair, just as he used to do to his own son. The elfing ducked fearfully under the man's hand before bolting towards the wooden bridge.

He berated himself for the careless move and dashed after the child before he could get himself lost in the woods. With his longer stride he quickly caught up to the boy and grabbed his little wrist in his large hand.

The elfling pulled desperately on his captured arm, twisting violently in the unyielding grasp, before going limp as children do.

"Come on. None of that now. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya. Calm down now." Yet, despite his efforts to sooth the child, it seemed that his talking only made the situation worse. He knew that the elfling probably didn't understand a word he was saying, but he had hoped that by keeping his tone of voice calm that at least part of the meaning would carry through.

Thinking quickly, he tried to come up with something that would calm the terrified child. Finally an idea struck.

"Do you like horsies?" he asked the squirming child. "I know that Wood elves like all kinds of animals, so I would bet that you do," he continued, as he gently lifted the struggling mass into his arms.

He quickly walked into the barn and over to his horse's stall. The tall chestnut colored stallion leaned over the gate to his stall and looked curiously at the tiny creature his master was holding. He took an immediate liking to the small fearful creature, and snorted an affectionate puff of air into the creature's face.

The elfling immediately looked up at the proud stallion as he felt the light puff of air. He immediately stopped struggling as he watched the great beast above him.

The horse's ears perked forwards and he leaned further down to gently lip at the child's hair. To Fonter's great relief, the elfling gave a small hesitant smile, and then a true giggle as the horse gently butted his muzzle against the child's forehead.

Fonter then cautiously set the elfling down as the child reached up to gently pet the stallion's velvety nose. The horse lowered his head obligingly to allow the child to pet him, before straightening and shaking his mane in a showy manner.

The child stepped back a bit, but again laughed at the horse's antics. Fonter too gave a light chuckle, revealed that the elfling was finally calming down.

He stood there for a few minutes, but the child seemed more than happy to stand there and pet his new friend. With the child distracted, he went about doing his chores, always careful to keep an eye on the child.

Eventually the stallion got bored with the child and turned away to nibble on his hay. The elfling seemed a bit put out by this, as he tried to call the horse back to him, and was promptly ignored. He sighed in disappointment, and turned to find something else to do.

Fonter glanced over at him, watching him carefully and getting ready to chase after the child if he decided to run again. As it was though, the elfling only walked to the back of the barn where he had heard some chickens clucking around. He watched in amusement as the child clucked back at the chickens, mimicking their sound almost perfectly, and holding his tiny hand out to them.

After only a moment, one of the friendlier chickens strutted up to him and cocked her head at him while clucking softly.

Fonter chuckled softly deep in his throat, as he continued with his work. Finally after several hours of work, Erima stuck her head out the door and called that lunch was ready.

He sighed in relief as he felt his belly rumble in hunger. He also knew that the child had to be hungry, having not eaten breakfast, and more than likely he probably didn't have any supper the other night. However, he hated to interrupt the child's play. He just seemed so comfortable and relaxed playing with the animals and in the hay.

He gave a reluctant sigh and walked over. He noticed an immediate change in the child as he approached. The elfling's eyes latched onto him and his whole body tensed, ready to spring. He held up his hands in a peaceful gesture to the child, before waving for him to follow. He waited a few minutes hoping that the child would freely follow him back to the house, but gave up a bit on that hope when the elfling remained rooted to his spot. He tried to call the child over to him a few more times before giving up with a reluctant sigh.

He walked over to the once again skittish child, and tried again to coax him into walking to the house with a gently nudge to his shoulder. The child only shrinked away from his touch before scampering away a couple passes.

He sighed a bit in irritation. "You're not gonna make this easy for me, are you?" He asked, knowing full well that he wouldn't get a response.

He again approached the child, only this time he went to pick the boy up and carry him to the house. He was starting to get tired of tiptoeing around the child. He swiftly reached down and snatched the child around the waist before he had the chance to try and duck away from the grab. The elfling gave a terrified shriek before immediately pushing against Fonter's broad chest.

"Oh, stop that! I'm not hurtin' ya!" he reprimanded, before wincing at his own tone. He didn't intend to sound so harsh, and immediately regretted it when the elfling froze with tears welling up in his eyes.

"No no, don't cry. Sshh. I'm sorry. That wasn't very nice of me. Sshh. It's alrigh'. Sshh," he tried to sooth.

The elfling gave one defiant sniffle, before going completely quiet and still; terrified of invoking the man's wrath.

He gave a regretful sigh as he saw the extent of the fear he instilled into the child, but there was nothing he could do about it at that moment, so he simply went to the house. Maybe the child would calm down when he had some food his belly. He could hear the slight rumble of the child's empty stomach; a testament to his earlier suspicions.

He made his way into the house, careful to make sure that the door latched behind him. He then gently set the elfling back down in his seat at the table and removed both of their cloaks.

Erima gave the both of them a warm smile as they entered the house, before dishing up three plates and setting them at the table. Fonter went back to his seat across from the elfling after hanging up the cloaks by the door.

"Thank ya, Love. This looks tasty," Fonter complimented, as he immediately tucked into his meat and potatoes.

Erima smiled at the compliment, as she too began to eat. After a while Fonter glanced across the table at the elfling only to see that once again, the food was ignored. He frowned at this discovery. He knew for a fact that the child was hungry. Even now he could hear small gurgles coming from the child's tummy, so it completely baffled him that the elfling wouldn't eat.

Erima looked over as well; her brow creasing in concern. "Maybe there's somethin' the matter with his throat?" she suggested.

Fonter shook his head. "I don't reckon so. He was talkin' to the animals just fine in the barn. Let's give him tomorrow to start eatin' on his own. I'm sure he will once he gets hungry enough," he dismissed as finished the food on his plate.

She frowned as she watched the child fidget in his seat. "I suppose. I'd hate to force the poor thing to do anythin'. We would just scare 'im even more. He can't be any older than about what, four or five? This can't be easy for 'im, not knowing where he is or what we're sayin', but he should drink somethin' at the very least. I don't want 'im to get dehydrated," she said.

The elfling's eyes darted nervously back and forth between the two while they talked. He could tell that he was the subject of their talk, even though he couldn't tell what they were saying about him.

Fonter considered what she said for a moment, before turning back to her. "Jus' have some water sitting out for 'im to drink when he feels like it. He'll drink eventually."

She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. The elfling squeaked and ducked underneath the table while Fonter and Erima cast a glance at each other.

"It's probably Beraddes. He said he migh' bring his son over to say 'ello," Fonter said, as he went over to answer.

Sure enough, once he swung the door open, a little boy with a shaggy mop of brownish red hair darted inside and glued himself to Fonter's left leg in a fierce hug.

"Hi, Unc Wonter," the boy squealed, as he tipped his head back to flash a wide smile up at the man.

Of course, Fonter wasn't really the boy's uncle; it was just that he and Beraddes were so close as friends, that many considered them as brothers. Fonter returned the boy's smile, and reached down to affectionately ruffle the boy's hair.

"It's good to see ya too Roy," he said, before turning his attention to Beraddes who was still standing in front of the door outside.

With a warm smile in place, he stepped to the side and motioned for the man to enter.

"Hey Fonter. How's the little tyke doing?" he asked as he removed his son's cloak as well as his own and hung them up next to Fonter's.

"Well… To put 'im in one word. He's skittish. Very skittish," he replied with a small laugh.

Beraddes took a quick glance around the room before turning back to his friend.

"Where's he anyway?" he asked upon not being able to spot the elfling in the room.

"He's hidin' under the table. The knocking scared 'im," he explained, with a vague gesture in the elfling's direction.

Roy laughed in delight as he noticed the other child peeking out from under the table cloth. He then skipped over and threw himself to his knees right in front of the other boy.

"Hi. My name is woy. What's your name?" he asked excitedly.

There weren't many young children in the village, so Roy was rather short on playmates and eager to make new friends, no matter whom or what they were.

The elfling watched this new little human in curiosity, and much to the relief of the adults in the room, he didn't seem too spooked by Roy's sudden appearance.

"What's your name?" Roy again tried to coax a name out of the other child who simply blinked at him uncomprehendingly.

"He's an elf, son. He only speaks elf talk, so he doesn't understand what you're sayin'. But you do ask a good question. What is the boy's name?" Beraddes said, while sending a curious glance towards Fonter and Erima.

The couple glanced at each other questionably before looking back.

"To be honest, we didn't even think about that," Eima replied, before shooting a curious glance at the elfling that was now starting to climb out from under the table to get a better look at Roy.

"Well, it's not like we can ask 'im," Fonter defended, as he too looked at the child.

"We can certainly try though," Beraddes smiled, before sitting down on the floor himself, beside his son.

The elfling shrank back a bit from the man, but quickly calmed down when he saw Roy try to sit in the man's lap.

"Roy," Beraddes said in a clear and firm voice, as he patted the top of his son's head.

He was careful to make eye contact with the child as he repeated the gesture along with Roy's name a few more times. The elfling cocked his head curiously and looked between the man and boy a few times before comprehension hit and his eyes widened.

"Roy," he said, as he pointed a finger at the boy.

"Yes! Roy! Good job elfling!" he praised, while making his voice lighter, as well as smiling widely so that his words could only be interpreted as praise.

The elfling hesitantly returned the smile; seaming to warm up to this new man that the human child, Roy seemed to think highly of.

"Beraddes," the man then said, while placing a hand on his chest.

The child's smile widened as he started to warm up to this new fun game. He pointed a finger at the man before repeating his name back to him. The man, Beraddes, then pointed over to the woman while saying her name.

"Erma," the child said, before frowning as he realized that it didn't sound like the way the man said the name; yet as he tried again to say the name, he just couldn't make the right sounds. He quickly forgot his disappointment though when he received praise from both the man in front of him and the woman.

Beraddes then pointed to the last man and said his name. The elfling stumbled over the name slightly, and beraddes repeated it again but slower so that it would be easier to pronounce.

Once the child had said the name correctly, Beraddes then decided to test the elfing, and pointed to his son.

"Roy!" the child said, causing Roy to clap his hands in delight.

He then pointed to Fonter, Erima, and himself, while the elfling named them perfectly; with the exception of Erima, whose name he couldn't pronounce. He then pointed to the child himself, and waited.

The elfling looked at him quizzically for a moment before comprehension once again lit up his eyes.

He placed his tiny hand over his heart and spoke clearly for them all to hear.

"Nín eneth Legolas."

 **TBC**

 **Translation:**

 **Nín eneth Legolas - My name is Legolas. (I added the 'is' because I couldn't find a translation for 'is')**

 **Thanks to all of you who reviewed, liked, or favorited this story. I was not expecting this story to be as popular as it is. I was greatly encouraged and motivated my all of your support.**

 **I now politely ask for a tip. You read the story, so please take a second of your time to tell me if you liked it. I will be happy with something as simple as a smiley face. I like smiles.**

 **Thank you all again for your support. You are a beautiful person. :)**


	3. Problems

**Person - Yes Legolas does love to play with the animals. :)**

 **Guest (1)- I'm glad you absolutely love it!**

 **Guest (2)- Yep. Thranduil does start to get a bit concerned in this chapter.**

 **Guest (3)- Thanks for the smile. I love smiles. :)**

 **Guest (4)- Your wish has been answered. More of Legolas' POV. ;)**

 **(I can't tell if you all are the same person, or all separate people, but I don't mind commenting on all reviews) :)**

 **Chapter three**

Legolas smiled to himself as he nestled down into his new bed for the night. The kind human lady, Erima, had led him into this new room earlier. He could tell that it had only just been cleaned. His keen nose could still smell the dust in the air, and he could see a fine layer of it settling down on some wooden chests that lined the walls, but the bed was clean and comfortable; fitted with fresh sheets and blankets. It wasn't as comfortable as his own bed though, and he missed his stuffed fox toy that his Ada had given him, but it would do.

He had fun playing with the human boy, Roy, earlier that day. They didn't let the language barrier get in the way of their fun. They had played Tag in the yard in front of the house while the two adult men- Fonter and Beraddes- watched from the porch.

After about an hour of play, Roy seemed to get tired, and went up to the man Legolas knew as Beraddes. The little boy then tugged slightly on the man's tunic to get his attention, before saying something in a questioning tone.

Legolas watched curiously from the yard while Roy interacted with the man that must have been his ada.

Beraddes smiled down at his son, before saying something back with a nod of his head. He then patted the boy's shoulder before disappearing inside of the house. He returned after only a moment with two cups in his hands. Roy drank greedily from the cup that was handed to him while Beraddes looked out at Legolas who was still standing in the yard.

"Legolas," he called, while motioning him over with his hand.

Legolas smiled as he turned over in his bed as another funnier memory popped up into his mind. Beraddes had gotten confused after he told them his name, thinking that his name was Nín Eneth Legolas. It took him a while and a bit of frustration, but they finally understood that his name was simply Legolas.

Legolas didn't really have a problem with approaching Beraddes. He wasn't as big and intimidating as the other man- Fonter- was. Legolas also knew that Beraddes was Roy's ada, and ada's didn't hurt kids.

He quickly trotted up to the man to stand in front of him, before looking up questionly. He smiled as he held out the second cup to the little elfling. Legolas hesitated for a moment before taking the cup from the man's hand so that he wouldn't be rude, however he didn't drink the water that was inside.

As nice as these people seemed, he didn't think it was a good idea to accept food or drink from them. He remembered a scary story the twins had told him on his stay in Rivendell.

It was a scary story about humans, and how an evil group of them would lure in children with kind manners and smiling faces, only to drug the unsuspecting children with food and drink, and take them away into a dark cave, never to be seen again.

The story was completely false of course, but Legolas didn't know that and believed in the story whole heartedly.

Legolas sighed miserably in his bed as his tummy rumbled loudly. He was incredibly hungry and thirsty, but he just couldn't bring himself to eat or drink anything that these people gave to him.

Before bed, Erima had tried to coax him into drinking some tea. He wasn't really scared of the woman anymore. She was nice, and took care of the owie on his head, and used a pretty soft voice when she talked to him. Yet despite all of that, he simply refused to take the chance of getting drugged and taken away to a dark cave.

He missed Aurgell and the other elves of the patrol. Surly they would give him something to eat, if he only knew where they were. Tears started to fill his eyes as he realized that he broke his promise to his ada to always stay with his guard.

He vaguely remembered the other humans carrying them away to some point out of his eye sight. What the men did with Aurgell and the others, he had not a clue.

 _They are probably looking for me,_ he decided. _Or maybe the other humans took care of their owies, and now they're going home to get more warriors._

He relaxed at the reassuring thought. A yawn slipped past his lips as he turned over once more and slipped into elven dreams.

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Thranduil sighed as he glanced out his balcony doors. He could faintly smell the moisture of rain in the air, as well as hear the almost indistinguishable sound of far off thunder.

The storm would likely dissipate before it even reached the palace walls, but it might cause an even further delay to his reunion with Legolas.

He currently was sitting at his desk, looking over some paperwork. For some bizarre reason he found himself too tense and worried to go to bed. Call it parental instincts if you want, but he just couldn't shake off the feeling that something was horribly wrong.

He remembered the first time he felt this type of anxiety. Right in the middle of council meeting, he had suddenly felt immense worry for no apparent reason. Confused and slightly scared at this unfamiliar feeling, he called for a break in the meeting and went for a short walk through the palace to calm his nerves.

For what he felt like no particular reason, he found himself walking down the hallway towards his tiny elfling's room. However, his walking quickly became running when he could faintly hear his son sobbing. He threw open the door and ran through the sitting room to the child's bed room.

When he threw open that door, he came upon the sight of his baby being crushed underneath the heavy oak wood of a fallen bookshelf.

He couldn't even recall crossing the room. He simply remembered getting to his child and hurling the offending furniture off of his baby. Books scattered around on the floor as he crashed down to his knees next to the sobbing elfling.

"Sshh, ion nín. Sîdh, sshh, sîdh," he murmured to the distressed child, while gently lifting his tiny frame from the floor.

His face was a bright shade of red from all of his crying, and he held both of his arms to his chest, while his Ada picked him up.

Being as gentle as he could, Thranduil rushed his baby over to the healers' wing of the palace while berating himself for having such a large and heavy piece of furniture in his little boy's room. He never even considered the idea of his little boy pulling over something so heavy. He also mentally cursed whoever it was that was supposed to be watching and taking care of his son.

Legolas was still crying mightily when they got to the healers' wing. The sound quickly attracted the attention of the Thaun, the head healer. He swiftly snatched the child from the king's arms before disappearing into one of the rooms.

Luckily, Legolas' bones were young and flexible. Nothing was broken, he was only very sore for the following couple of days.

Back in the present, Thranduil very much doubted that a bookshelf could have fallen on his boy while out in the forest, but there were many other things that could have happened to his baby.

The only cure to his worry was to have his child safely back into his arms. With one last glance of longing out the windows, he blew out the candle he was using, and went to bed to at least try and get some sleep.

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"Fonter," Erima whispered, while she gently shook her husband's shoulder.

He sighed sleepily before cracking his eyes open, then squinted in confusion when he realized that it was still the middle of the night.

"What is it, Love?" he mumbled, as he rolled over to face her.

"Listen," she ordered, and he could imagine her cupping her ear in the dark.

He too strained his ears to catch whatever sound it was that disturbed her. Right then, a loud crack of thunder sounded from just outside the house, and the wind howled as it pressed up against the walls of the home, causing the wood to groan a bit.

He shrugged off these sounds, knowing that they weren't in any danger of the storm. He was about to ask again what the problem was, when he finally heard it. A sound that didn't belong to that of the storm. After listening to another crash of thunder, he could pick up on the quiet sounds of fearful whimpering. It was the sound of a fearful child trying to hold back their sounds of terror, but failing rather miserably.

He opened his mouth to say something about it, but Erima beat him to it.

"I'm pretty sure I hear Legolas crying," she said, as she sat up in bed.

Fonter rolled back over with a mighty yawn. "You should go see to 'im then. He's probably jus' scared of the storm," he dismissed, as he once again closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

He could feel the weight of his wife leaving the bed, as well as the the quiet movement of the door opening and closing.

He again woke up about an hour later, when his wife again returned to their bed. He rolled over again to face her, and was surprised to see the faint glow of the elfing's body sandwiched between them. The child was now sleeping peacefully with one hand fisted in Erima's hair and the other near his face with his thumb in his mouth.

He smiled fondly at the boy and his wife as he helped to pull the blankets up over them, before returning to sleep.

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Fonter woke up early as was usual, and frowned in confusion as he caught sight of legolas nestled in the blankets next to him. He watched the child sleep for a moment, before he finally recalled the storm last night, and the reason why he was sharing his bed with the tiny elf.

He looked over the child at the form of his sleeping wife and smiled at the sight of her messed hair. Some time during the night, she had laid an arm over the child and held him close, so that his back was resting against her stomach.

With a warm smile gracing his lips, he carefully rolled out of bed to get started on the day. He quickly took care of his early morning chores in the barn, before reentering the house. The sight that greeted him was a warm one that caused his lips to once again turn up into a smile.

Legolas was sitting at his spot at the table with a couple of his son's old toys sitting in front of him. Currently the elfling had a wooden wolf in one hand, and a horse in the other. He had them facing each other and making them have a conversation. It was impossible for Fonter to understand what the child was having the animals say, but it was still amusing none the less.

Legolas didn't even look up as he sat in his spot across from the child; only looking up when Erima scooted the toys away, and replaced them with a bowl of porridge.

He made a sound of protest as his play was interrupted, and pretended to have the wolf bite her hand as she was moving back to serve up a bowl for Fonter. She laughed at the child's antics, and gave a quiet scream of mock terror.

Fonter smiled fondly at the two of them, before taking his bowl from Erima's hands and tucking into the porridge. After a while when he was nearly finished with his food, Erima called his attention back to the child.

"Fonter, he's still not eatin'," she said, and he could detect real worry in her voice.

He looked up and sure enough, the food was again going uneaten. Legolas simply sat in his chair and stared at the table cloth in front of him, while kicking his legs underneath the table.

"Ya said we should wait until today before we start doin' somethin'. Well it's today, so we need to figure somethin' out before he starves 'imself to death," she said, while looking straight into Fonter's eyes.

"Calm down, Love. He's not goin' to die, but we'll get 'im to start eatin'. Don't ya worry none," he assured.

He then stood up and walked around the table to kneel down next to legolas' chair. Legolas moved away from the man a bit, but otherwise he didn't seem too bothered by the man's closeness.

Fonter smiled kindly at the child before picking up the unused spoon and scooping up a bite of the child's untouched food. He then brought the spoon up close to the elfling's mouth, while making exaggerated 'mmm' sounds, trying to demonstrate that the food tasted good, while Legolas cocked his head at him in confusion.

The child jerked back violently when Fonter brought the spoon even closer, almost to the point that it brushed against his lips.

"No no. It's alrigh'. Don't be scared," he quickly reassured, while pulling his hand back and away from the child.

"Let me try," Erima said, as she moved her chair closer to the child.

Fonter obligingly handed her the spoon, and took a couple steps back to watch. She got some fresh food on the spoon and started to make horse sounds while making the spoon galop slowly through the air towards the child's mouth.

Legolas giggled at her, but once again he shied away from the spoon once it got too close for comfort. They both continued to try and coax him into eating the food, but no matter what silly thing they did, Legolas never let them get too close with the spoon without inducing a fearful reaction. He finally got fed up with them, and slipped down from his chair and scamper over to the other end of the room where he wearily watched them from behind the armrest of the couch.

"This isn't workin',"Erima suddenly declared, as the two of them stood up and looked at the child.

"Truly? Thank ya for that information. I thought it was workin' perfectly," Fonter replyed, while he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

She turned to him with a scowl firmly planted across her lips. "I'm bein' serious, Fonter. It won't be good for 'im if he keeps this up for too long."

He opened his mouth to apologize, when he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Just like the last time there was a knock on the door, Legolas squeaked and ducked down in his spot behind the couch.

Erima huffed as she turned away from her husband and opened the door.

Legolas' head instantly popped back up over the armrest when he heard Roy's voice as he greeted Erima.

Beraddes too stepped into the warm house and smiled at the couple, before frowning as he caught sight of their expressions.

"Sorry. Are we interruptin' somethin'," he asked, while the two children went over to greet the other.

Erima sighed as she shook her head. "No. We're just havein' a bit of an issue with Legolas," she said.

Beraddes frowned in concern as he heard this. "What's the issue?"

"He's not been eatin' or drinkin' anything we give 'im, and it's starting to get worrisome," Fonter explained as he glanced over at the two kids who had began a hand clapping game that Roy was trying to teach to elf.

"Do ya think there migh' be somethin' the matter with 'im? Did ya get 'im checked out by the healer?" he asked, as he too looked over to look at the child in question.

"I was thinkin' that too, but Fonter insisted that he was fine, and that he would eat when he got hungry," Erima said, while sending a dirty look Fonter's way.

"Now, don't ya go makin' me sound like the bad guy. I'm gonna figure this out," he said, as he narrowed his eyes in determination.

Erima sighed and looked back over at Beraddes. "Ya know? I think would be best to let the healer take a look at 'im. It certainly can't hurt, and Roy can come along to help to keep 'im calm," she said, while nodding to her own idea.

They both looked over at Fonter who finally nodded. "Alrigh'. We'll let old Vixed take a look at 'im."

 **TBC**

 **Translations:**

 **Ion nin - My son**

 **Sîdh - Peace**

 **Thaun - Pine Tree**

 **Ada - Dad**

 **Hello. I would Just like to apologize for the long wait. A few weeks ago, I got T-boned in a pretty bad accident. I was driving on the highway and some idiot went through the stop sign. I'm pretty sure he was trying to catch imaginary monsters on his phone. (Review if you got that joke)**

 **I won't get into the details of my injuries. (You aren't here to listen to me gripe away forever) They say I'm expected to make a full recovery, but I'm going to still be in the hospital for a while yet. I only recently got access to my laptop again, and typing is going to be rather difficult for the next couple months or so. (I broke my dominant hand and wrist and can now only type with one hand)**

 **Fear not, I can still peck at the keys with that one hand, and will continue writing this story while I rest. It will just be a little harder for me.**

 **I thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support. You are all beautiful people. :)**


	4. Solutions?

**Guest (1)- Yep,** **Pokémon** **Go. Sometimes games can really bring the stupid out of people. Luckily we both have insurance, so my bills are being paid. All except for the ride in the ambulance. (Seriously, that was the single most expensive car ride I have ever had.) If I had know I would have to pay that out of pocket, I would have dragged my broken butt to the hospital. ;)**

 **I have planed to have a little of Legolas' POV in every chapter, and I hope that this chapter pleases you. As for the Plagiarism thing, you are completely right. It is actually completely coincidental that my story has the similarities that it does. Prior to the accusation I had never even read the fanfiction in question, but now I have, and am making a conscious effort to keep the two stories separate and unique. Thank you for your support and concern. ;)**

 **BrotherO'Loien- Firstly, thank you for your conceirn. I'm not aloud to do anything other than rest at the moment. Typing all of this has been a bit frustrating, but nothing feels better than having it all done.**

 **I am so glad that you like my story, and it makes me so happy to read your feedback. You are right. Roy is about the only person Legolas trusts. (For the time being that is) ;)**

 **Person- It is pretty lame. Thank you. Soon we will see Legolas eating. (hopefully)**

 **Guest (2)- Thank you for your concern. I'm glad you like the style of my story. Honestly I wasn't sure if people would like it. It is a relief to know that you do.**

 **Although the horse can't tell anything to Legolas, he still will have a rather important part in this story. :)**

 **Ele- Thank you so much for your kind words. They make me feel so special. I am doing a lot of resting, and with time I should make a full recovery. :)**

 **Without further adue, I present the fourth chapter for your entertainment.**

Chapter Four

Upon first seeing the man named Vixed, Legolas found him to be very different from all of the other humans he had seen so far. He had seen a few humans in the village while they all had walked to this house, which reminded him a bit if the healing wing at home.

While they had walked through the village, Legolas had stayed the closest to Beraddes. He may have felt more comfortable with Roy, but Roy was just a child like himself. There was nothing either of them could do if one of men walking by wanted to hurt them. Beraddes though, was large and strong. He was also an ada, and Legolas knew that adas protected kids from danger.

At some point during their walk, the man had reached down and took his small hand to be engulfed in his much larger one. Normally, he would have shied away from such an action, but this time he felt strangely comforted by it. Having that physical contact with the man brought him even closer to the man's side. He also felt a bit safer knowing that Beraddes could actually physically pull him away from anyone that might try to hurt him at a moments notice. It was a comforting thought.

Once they had reached their destination, they again played the name game to introduce Legolas to the man he now knew as Vixed.

He found the man to be very funny looking. First off, he had very long hair on his face. Seeing as no elf had it; facial hair was still a very new concept to Legolas, and he was still trying to get used to the little bit that most of the men he had seen had. Both Beraddes and Fonter had hairy chins, but their hair was short and nicely kept. Vixed's hair was wild, and reached down nearly to the middle of his chest.

However, while he had a lot of hair on his face, he barely had any on his head. Also, all of his hair was grey; a hair color that was completely new to the elfling. He couldn't decide if he was fascinated by it or afraid of it.

The man's skin was also a great curiosity. It was wrinkly all over, especially on his hands. His face looked all saggy, and his eyebrows looked like fuzzy caterpillars. All in all, the man was just a combination of many things that he had never seen before.

When he smiled, Legolas' eyes widened, and he ducked behind Beraddes legs. He was missing a great many of his teeth, and the ones he did have were yellow and brown.

He chuckled kindly at the child's skittishness, before turning and talking to the adults. Legolas tried to follow their conversation through their expressions, but he still couldn't understand what was happening or why they had come to this house.

After the adults had talked for a while, Vixed looked back down at him. He gave another toothless smile while he said something in a kind tone, before turning his back and patted a large table near the middle of the room.

Beraddes moved to the side so that the Elfling was no longer behind him. Legolas looked up fearfully, completely confused as to what was happening. Beraddes smiled comfortingly at the child, while he gently placed his large hand on a small shoulder to gently steer the child towards the table.

Roy followed too, seeming to have done this before. The man then gently lifted first his son, then the elf to sit next to each other on the table top. Roy was unbothered by this, and started to kick his legs absently over the side of the table.

Legolas squirmed nervously in his spot, and latched his eyes onto Vixed as the man approached.

Legolas watched as he first went over to Roy and gently took his small hand palm up. He then placed two fingers on the tiny wrist and waited for a moment. Legolas could recall Thaun doing the same thing to him back at home. Whenever he ended up seeing the healer, he almost always did that.

He released Roy's wrist, and then turned to the elfling sitting next to the other boy on the table. He held out one of his strange wrinkly hands, and waited patiently for Legolas to offer up his hand.

Tentatively, Legolas reached out to place his own hand into the man's larger one. He nearly recoiled when he felt how cold the man's hand was. However, he held himself in check when he heard all of the adults giving him tender praise.

Vixed then turned his hand over so that it was palm up and placed two long and bony fingers on his wrist.

He quickly pulled his hand back to himself as soon as his wrist was released. He received more praise from the adults, and Roy reached over to pat his knee.

His attention returned to Vixed as the man approached once more; this time with a strange metal object in hand. He again went over to Roy first, and had the boy remove his shirt. Once the clothing was off, he reached over and placed one end of the object on the boy's chest, while he placed his ear near the other end.

Legolas' own ears perked up when the object was placed on Roy. With his advanced hearing, he could now hear the sound of the other boy's beating heart.

When Vixed was done listening to Roy's heart, he removed the object and turned towards Legolas.

He carefully motioned for the elf to take off his own shirt, and again waited patiently for the child to comply. Legolas knew that the man wanted to place the heart listening thing on him, but he didn't really want the thing on him, no matter how neat it was.

After they had waited for a while, Erima stepped forwards to try and coax the elfling into removing his clothing, while Vixed again demonstrated on Roy what he wanted to do.

Eventually, with great reluctance, Legolas grabbed the hem of his tunic, and slowly peeled it off. Erima talked encouragingly to him and distracted him so well that he didn't even realize that Vixed had placed the object on him, until he felt the cold of the metal against his skin. He quickly tried to lean away from the man and his object, but was stopped when Erima placed her hand on his back; keeping him in place.

He sat in paralyzed fear as the man moved uncomfortably close to his body to listen to his heart. He listened for a moment, and then pulled away from the child with a gentle smile in place. He felt relief when the man pulled away, and even more so when the smile didn't show his teeth.

He again received praise, but despite their reassurance, he was quickly becoming uncomfortable with his situation. He turned to grab his tunic from beside him, only to find that it was in Erima's hands - out of reach.

She stepped back as the elfling made a swipe for the clothing. Frustrated, confused, and scared, he tried to slip down from the table, and remove himself from the uncomfortable situation. However, his escape attempt was foiled as Beraddes slipped an arm around his waist and held him in place.

"Stop! Let me go, please!" he cried in desperation, as he pushed at the hand holding him captive.

The man was quick to shush him, as he tried to calm and sooth the distort child. He then suddenly turned to Fonter and asked him something.

Fonter's eyes widened as he nodded quickly and rushed out of the front door. Beraddes continued to try and calm the child until Fonter returned, carrying a familiar jar with him.

He came over to the table and opened it, releasing a soothing aroma into the air. He reached two fingers into the container and then quickly went to work rubbing the cream into the elfling's skin.

It didn't take long before Legolas began to feel sleepy. He really didn't want to be touched, but Fonter's hands were warm against his naked skin, and the lotion was soothing and smelled nice.

Vixed quickly took advantage of his drowsiness, and placed the listening object on his back. Beraddes stepped in front of him, and had Legolas watch as he took deep even breaths. Without really thinking about it, Legolas found himself copying the man's breathing.

Vixed made a sound of approval from behind him, and he felt relieved when the cold feeling of the metal left his skin.

He quickly lost track of what the man was doing to him, he was just focusing on trying not to fall asleep.

The man opened his mouth to pear down his throat, had him lay on his back while his wrinkled hands felt around on his tummy and sides, as well as checked on the wound on his head. At one point, Legolas just closed his eyes and allowed the man to do what he willed.

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"I don't know what to tell ya'll. He seems to be as healthy as a horse. I can't find a single thin' wrong 'im," Vixed said, as he gently lay a blanket over the sleepy child.

"Then why isn't he eatin'? Surely ya at least have a theory," Erima exclaimed, as she placed a hand protectively over the child's head.

"Well, I do have an idea as to what the problem is. Ya see, he's reluctant enough to even let someone touch 'im. With what ya told me about finding 'im and with how skittish he's been, I believe it's safe to say that he's suffering from a fair bit of tramma. In short, He doesn't trust ya enough to take anything from ya," he said with a sad nod.

"How do we get 'im to trust us, then," Fonter asked, as he too stepped forwards to glance sadly down at the now sleeping child.

"Now, that I can't tell ya. All I can say is that ya better get 'im to trust ya, and soon. otherwise, before long, he's goin' be in a poor state," the old man answered. With that he turned his back and started to put his things away. "If he is still not eatin' by tomorrow mornin', then bring 'im on back and I'll figure somethin' out. Until then, be kind and patient with 'im. Try to see things from his perspective," he called over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought.

With that, they left the old healer, and went back across the little wooden bridge to the cabin nestled between the two ancient trees. They all entered the house, with Fonter holding the sleeping Legolas, and Beraddes holding the now sleepy Roy.

"Well, I wish I could stay and help, but I need to go lay Roy down for his nap. I guess I'll just say good luck to the both of ya, and if ya need anything, ya know where I live," he said with a departing wave to the couple, and promptly left for his own home.

Fontered gave a tired sigh as he glanced down at the sleeping bundle in his arms. He was out of ideas. All they could do was wait for Legolas to make the first step.

He went into Legolas' new room and gently placed the snoozing child down on the bed. After making sure that the elfling was warm enough in his blankets, Fonter gave him one last backward glance before leaving the room.

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"There was no sign of them?" Thranduil asked. A patrol had just gotten back to the palace, but not just any patrol. This patrol should have crossed paths with his son's guard. Even if his son's guard was severely delayed because of the storms, the two groups still should have bumped into each other.

The captain of the patrol glanced down slightly, and Thranduil could have sworn that he saw a wince pass over the elf's face.

"We did not see them, no…" he trailed, as if he were collecting his courage for what he was about to say next.

Thranduil was losing his patients. He wanted information about his child's whereabouts whether it be good or bad.

"However we did find evidence of a battle. There were the bodies of orcs, as well as a few elvish horses. We also found traces of elvish blood. Most of it had been washed away by the recent storms, but some yet remained sheltered by a few trees. After finding the remains of the battle, we could not find the prince's guard, which leads me to believe that they have all been taken captive, my lord," he concluded.

He looked back down, afraid of how the king might react. For a moment all was silent as Thranduil's mind tried and failed to process what it was that the guard was telling him. Legolas was in the hands of the enemy. His baby child was in the filthy hands of orcs! What could they be doing to his little elfling as they speak! What have they already done!

Icy cold claws of fear gripped his heart. A shiver passed down his spine as goose flesh appeared on his arms underneath the rich fabric of his robes. His mind was a whirlwind of possible horrors that could have befallen his son and his guard. All of the possibilities worst than the last. He finally gained back some control over himself, enough to give out an order.

"I want our four best portals out searching for them. Now!" He demanded.

The captain bowed hastily, before darting out of the room to fulfil his king's orders.

As soon as the captain slipped through the large double doors, the king leaned forwards to bury his head into his hands. He closed his eyes as he whispered a prayer under his breath; begging for the safety of his only child.

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"'llow there, Legolas. Did ya have a nice nap?" Erima asked, as the sleepy eyed boy stumbled out of his room.

She smiled down at the elfling as she set her son's old toys down on the floor for Legolas to play with, while she went about doing her chores.

The elfing smiled gleefully, as he plopped onto the wooden floorboards and grabbed the wooden wolf to talk to the other animals.

Every now and then Erima would glance over at the boy when he got particularly excited about something, and wonder what it was that he was saying.

Fonter finlay came back inside after finishing his chores, and they all sat down at the table to eat dinner. Erima had poked her head into the elfling's room at lunch to see if she try to coax him into eating, but upon finding him sleeping peacefully, she left him alone to wake up in his own time.

The meal went as it usually did. The couple finished their food while Legolas ignored his, but this time he stared intently at the toys on the ground. Anyone could see that the child wanted to play, but he waited patiently for permission to leave his seat. They both tried in vain to get the child to eat, until Fonter finally sat back with a sigh of frustration.

"That is it! You're gonna eat whether ya like it or not!" And with that, he went around behind the child and wrapped an arm around his waist, with his arms pinned to his sides. Legolas gave a squeak of fear, and tried to squirm out of his seat, but Fonter held him firm.

With his free hand, he reached around the child and scooped up a spoon full of the thick stew in front of them. With Legolas held in place, he tried to press the utensil up against the child's lips.

Fat fear induced tears began to roll down the boy's face as he struggled uselessly to get away from the large man.

"Fonter! Stop that at once!" Erima screeched, as she tried to pull the man away from the terrified child.

The stress of the situation finally got to them and they turned on each other as they yelled their point to the other.

Legolas, not understanding the situation, or why there was yelling, slipped down from his chair and hid under the table with his tiny fists over his sensitive ears. He cried softly to himself, wishing more than anything to be home with his Ada.

At that precise moment, the door swung open to reveal a young lady. She too had red hair like Beraddes, and was wearing a simple brown dress. Behind her stood The man with Roy propped on his hip.

Her honey brown eyes immediately noticed the tear stained boy under the table, and she frowned disapprovingly at the arguing couple.

"That would be quite enough from the both of you," she ordered, as she placed her hands upon her hips.

The couple immediately fell silent as they turned to their surprise guests.

"Farha?" Erima questioned, as she recognised the girl.

The girl in question huffed as she stepped into the house and sat down on the floor next to the table. A beautiful calming smile spread over her face as she peered at the shaken child with soothing eyes. She held her arms open in invitation, and much to everyone's surprise, Legolas instantly fisted his hands into the front of her dress and sobbed against her bosom.

The poor child was in serious need of comfort and reassurance, and besides Roy, This girl that could barely be called an adult, was the least frightening person he had seen thus far. She was short and calm, and radiated nothing but a protective love. He could instantly tell that this fiery haired girl would not let anything happen to him.

He clung to the safety she offered while she gently stroked his hair and hummed softly into one of his pointed ears with a sweet pretty voice.

He finally began to calm down while Fonter shook his head at the sight.

"Your daughter really is somethin', Beraddes," he complimented as they all watched in amazement how easily she managed to calm the elfling.

Legolas finally calmed down and looked up at the girl he was clinging to. She smiled sweetly at him and introduced herself with the name game. He stumbled over her name a few times before he got right. She praised him greatly on his success, then led him across the floor over the toys for the two boy to play with. He plopped down obligingly across from Roy, and the two immediately started playing together.

"Now. What in heaven's name was that all about," She demanded, as she looked accusingly at both Fonter and Erima.

They explained guiltily that they had allowed their stress and irritation to get the better of them, while Beraddes and his daughter listened to them.

"I thought I should brin' Farha over to see if maybe she could help. Seein' this, I'd reckon I made the right choice," he said, with a fond glance at his daughter.

 **TBC**

 **Fun fact- Farha is actually a medieval name meaning "Beautiful". I thought this name would be fitting for this character.**

 **I apologize for the delay, but there wasn't much I could do about it. My doctor tried to switch me to a new pain medication, because my old one made me really sleepy, but it turns out that I'm allergic to this new one, so they switched me back to my old sleepy one. (So if there are any grammar mistakes in this story, I'm going to blame it on drowsiness)**

 **I have been getting rather frustrated lately with my inability to do things. One time while I was in the hospital I tried to pick up a cup of juice with my non dominate "Good" hand, and dumped the whole glass on myself. I felt so embarrassed when the nurse came in to help clean me up.**

 **I have been released from the hospital, and my mom is now holding under bed arrest. (She won't let me get up without breathing down my neck) since my hand is busted, I can't use crutches to get around. (My right leg is not weight bearing) so instead I have this giant walker. It has an armrest that I place my forearm in, and I use it to shuffle around like a feeble old lady.**

 **Seariously, my mom is so afraid of me falling down that she won't let me lock the bathroom door. I can't really blame her though. Imagine how awkward it would be to have the police bust down your bathroom door, just so they can pick you up off of the ground.**

 **Sorry about my rant, I'm just getting tired of being tired.**

 **Thank you all for your continuous support. You are all beautiful people. :)**


	5. Understanding

**Chapter 5**

"And what sound does the cow make?" Farha asked.

Legolas giggled as he led the young woman around the barn by the hand. For about the past hour, Farha had been teaching Legolas the names of all of the animals. Even though he didn't understand all of what she had said, he had learned a few keywords, like 'sound' and 'cow' that he was able to understand the question.

"Cow, Mooooo," he cheered, as he pointed to the lazy black and white animal in question.

"Very good, Legolas. Yer such a smart boy. What sound does a horse make?" she asked as she led him over to the larger stallion.

The child laughed as he buzzed his lips in his best impression of the beast before him. He then tossed his head in a cute mimicry of how the horse would toss his mane and held his hands up like they were hooves.

"Is Legolas a horse?" She asked, as a plan quickly formulated in her head, and a slightly sly grin spread over her features.

"Legolas horse," he agreed, as he galloped around her.

She smiled at the boy, and reached into a basket that was sitting next to the stall, and withdrew a crisp green apple.

"Apple," she said, as she held the fruit before the child so that he could identify the name with the object. "Horses eat apples," she continued and promptly fed the piece of fruit to the stallion to make her point.

Legolas laughed in delight, as he watched the horse's soft muzzle gently take the apple from the girl's hand.

"Horse eat the apple," he squealed, as he watched the station chew the fruit. He then reached down into the basket to feed an apple to the horse himself.

"Is Legolas a horse?" she asked again and smiled when the boy gave her an affirmative by trotting in a circle around her. "Then Legolas eats apples," she said while holding another apple out to the child, just like she did to the horse.

So enraptured he was in his make-believe, that he didn't even hesitate in giving a whinny and taking a big bite from the fruit in Farha's hand.

She smiled in triumph as the boy's instincts took over, and he quickly devoured the rest of the apple. She quickly handed him another one when the boy tried to eat the core and stem of the first fruit.

While his attention was fixed on his second apple, Farha took his free hand and led him into the house. From there, she sat him in his seat at the table where Erima set down a large mug of a warmed milk and a reheated bowl of stew.

"Bless my heart. He is finally eatin'," the older woman smiled in delight while Farha took the second apple core from the child and brought his attention to what was now in front of him; the drink in particular.

He picked up the glass with both hands, and it was clear that he recognized the white beverage, as he turned towards Erima. "Cow mooooo," he informed the older woman, before taking a large gulp of the creamy liquid.

She gave a snorting laugh while she nodded to the boy. "Yes, Cows moo."

He finished his milk in record time before grabbing his spoon and eating the stew. When there was only about half of the bowl left did he stop and push it away from himself with a contented sigh. Combining the stew with the apples, he had more than enough food to stuff a small child. Farha praised the child for all he ate, while Erima took away the dishes and refilled the mug with more warmed milk.

A large yawn escaped Legolas' mouth while he rubbed a fist over his tired eyes. He wrapped both arms around Farha's neck as she picked him up and walked into his room. Even though it wasn't particularly late, and he had already had a nap, it still had been a very stressful and tiring day for the elfling.

She sat him down on the small bed and handed him the cup of warmed milk. A smile touched her lips as the child settled back into his blankets and sipped at the creamy beverage. She could see the child starting to nod off, so she slipped a hand underneath the cup to catch it when his fingers went lax.

She took the cup when the elfling's eyes clouded with sleep and gently slid him down into a more comfortable position in the bed.

"Sweet dreams, child," she whispered as she gave the top of his head a gentle pet.

Her face was then suddenly marred with a frown as she felt the child's hair. His hair still felt soft and silky, but she could also feel her fingers getting caught in tangles. The frown deepened as she gently extracted a piece of straw from the golden locks.

"This simply won't do," she murmured to herself. She resolved to bathe and groom the child come tomorrow morning, but for now, she would simply let him sleep. With that thought in mind, she quietly exited the room and left for her own house.

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The air was crisp and fresh when the morning did arrive. The sun had yet to warm the earth, and the air was cold enough to burn your nose if you breathed in too deeply.

Legolas sat at the table with his toys and watched with curiosity as Erima and Farha hung large pots of water over the fire. He turned at the sound of a deep voice clearing their throat, and he came face to face with Forter's belly. When he looked up to the man's face, he could only see an annoyed furrow in his brow.

Legolas shrank back in his chair as Fonter scooted the toys away and pushed forwards the plate of eggs that had been provided for the elfling. He wasn't really a fan of eggs, but he could eat them. His ada often told him to eat them, claiming that they were good for him.

With a resigned sigh he forced himself to stomach the squishy, slimy substance. The worst part was the yoke. It bled yellow goo across the plate as he broke into it. Wiping it up with some of the whites; he almost gagged as is slid its way down his throat like a slimy slug. Although he didn't gag, he did shiver as the food made its journey down his throat.

He quickly reached for his water glass to wash away the rest of the goop, before forcing himself to repeat the process over again. Just as he finished swallowing the last bite, Erima came over and took his plate while Farha led Legolas over to the basin of warm water by the hand.

Once there she motioned for Legolas to take off his clothes. He fidgeted nervously for a moment before pulling his tunic over his head. She smiled encouragingly at him and indicated for him to remove his pants as well. His small body stiffened as he froze in place, and refused to comply with her wishes. He could remember his ada making it clear to him that there was a reason for wearing clothes, and that it was inappropriate to remove them in front of strangers unless one of his guardians said that it was alright.

Finally, after several minutes of coaxing with no yielding results, Farha gently took the child into her arms and started to deftly pull his leggings off.

"Baw! Baw!" he shrieked, as he wriggled in her grasp, and tried to grab the hem of his leggings from her hands. However, before he could even reach them, Erima took them away while Farha slid a gentle hand under his soft little cheeks to pick him up. He squirmed, uncomfortable with the skin on skin contact.

She didn't like forcing him into situations that he didn't like, but she feared that if she waited for much longer for the elfling to willingly disrobe himself, the bath water would have gotten cold, and he could have gotten sick from the chill.

With a firm hold on the wriggling body in her arms she slowly lowered him into the warm water in the basin on the counter. The reaction that elicited was instantaneous. As soon as the water swallowed up the child's legs, he gave a surprised yelp and looked down into the basin he was now seated in.

He blinked coyly a few times before a hesitant smile touched his lips and he placed his hands into the water with his legs. The warmth was startling, yet it was not unpleasant. He moved his hand a bit creating light splashes before looking questioningly up at Farha. It was clear to him that she meant to give him a bath, but he had never had a bath like this before. Usually, there was bubbles and wooden toys that would float in the water. The bath would also take place in a large ceramic tub, not a small tin basin.

She smiled reassuringly at the child before cradling his head in one hand and pressing him back with the other so that she could wet his hair.

All cooperation ended there. As soon as his head started to become submerged in the water; he shrieked in fright and struggled to sit up. His nanny never had him lie down in the water before, she would always pour water over his head from a ceramic bowl.

Startled by the child's sudden distress, Farha quickly sat Legolas back upright while assuring him of her good intentions.

He scolded her angrily for a moment before allowing himself to be calmed down again.

After calming Legolas down again, Farha gave herself a moment to collect herself. She was determined to keep this from becoming a traumatic experience for the elfling, and already she could see he was becoming quite agitated with the whole situation. With a deep breath, she went back to cleaning the child.

She gently lathered some soap into his golden hair while being careful not to let any of the suds fall down into his large glittering eyes. When she needed water, she scooped some up into her hand and slowly poured it over his head while tilting his chin up to keep any of the water from getting on his face. After doing this a few times, and seeing no signs of his earlier distress, she advanced to using a small tin cup to scoop the water up and rinse the soap out of the now clean hair.

After his hair was clean, she lathered up a soft flannel and deftly washed Legolas' body. He squirmed a bit uncomfortably from time to time but made no further protests against anything she did.

When it came to the time to get out of the now lukewarm water, Legolas almost eagerly stood up to let her wrap a large towel around his body to dry him off.

"That wasn't so bad, and now, you're as fresh as a flower," She smiled as she sat down on the couch with the elfling bundled up in her lap. Using a corner of the towel, she vigorously rubbed Legolas' head to dry off any excess water that was in the baby fine hair on his little scalp.

A smile brightened her face as she managed to get a true giggle out of the child as he was suddenly swallowed up by the fabric wrapped around him.

"Are you havin' fun, Legolas?" she asked, as he ducked back under the towel in a game of peek-a-boo. She indulged the child in his game for a moment, before accepting some clothes handed to her by Erima.

"He really is a sweet thin'," the older woman laughed as she watched him peek over the towel before ducking back down with a squealing giggle.

"He is," Farha agreed, as they worked together to dress the child in the old clothes that once belonged to Erima's son. They were a little too big, but Erima had hemmed the pants and shirt sleeves so that they weren't too long, while Farha was giving Legolas his bath.

After he was dressed, the two women finally released him to run over to his toys and plop down on the floor in front of them.

They both looked at him fondly before Erima turned to the younger woman standing next to her.

"Thank ya, for all of your help, dear. I do believe I can take from it here, though. Ya're free to stay of course, but I believe your father would like you back by now."

Farha nodded. "Ya're right. I should be gettin' on home, but I will be back soon to check up on him."

With that, she walked over and knelt next to giggling boy. "Bu-bye, Honey. I'll be back to see ya real soon. Alright?" she said, as she scooped him into her lap in a tight hug.

He had no idea what she was saying, but he hugged her back anyway. He liked Farha, and he liked hugs.

"You be good, now," she said, and with that final parting, she set Legolas back down on the floor and left the house.

At first, he wasn't even aware of her absence, but over the course of a couple hours, he eventually got bored with his toys and stood up to survey the room. Upon not finding whom he was looking for, he toddled over to Erima and tugged on her dress skirts.

"Farha?" he questioned once he had gained the woman's attention.

Erima smiled as she petted the elfling's small head. "Sorry, Legolas, but Farha's not here. She went home," she said while shaking her head 'no' to help to better convey her words.

He continued to look up at her in disappointment for a moment. Even though he couldn't really understand the words, he got the message that he couldn't see Farha at that moment.

Board, and having nothing else to do, he shadowed Erima for a while as she went about her work in the kitchen. She allowed it for a while, but after nearly tripping over the child for the fourth time, she finally shooed him away.

After being dismissed, he went around to explore the house. He may have explored every inch of the barn, but he never did get a chance to acquaint himself with the household.

He skipped the rooms he was already familiar with; the living area and his room, and wandered into the one room that he didn't get a good look at, Erima and Fonter's room. After pushing the door open, he glanced over his shoulder at the woman in the kitchen. She had her back turned as she stirred something in a pot hanging over the stove. Satisfied, he turned back to the room and ducked inside.

The room was rather plain but lived in. The bed was only just big enough to support two adult bodies, and there were a few chests pushed against either side of the bed, doubling as night stands. A few doilies lay on top of one of the bedside chest, while a few candles sat on the other.

There was but one more chest in the room, sitting at the foot of the bed. This one had nothing on top of it. Curious, he wandered up to the chest and hefted the lid open.

He stepped back in alarmed surprise when the contents were revealed to him. It was instantly recognizable to the elfling and he knew immediately that what the chest held, did not belong there.

He stepped forwards once more and pulled Aurgell's dagger out from its wooden confines. It was at that moment that he knew something was seriously wrong. His guardian never let the weapon out of his sight, the fact that he was now holding such a valuable possession, and hadn't seen so much as a glimpse of his heart brother sent alarms blaring in his head. Glancing back into the chest, he was able to identify many other weapons that he knew belonged to the other elves of his escort.

Fear and immense worry clouded his head, as he darted from the room, dagger still clutched firmly in hand and barreled straight into Erima's skirts. From there he fisted his hands into the material and sobbed mightily.

Erima jumped in startlement and looked down at the child that was now desperately clinging to her. It took but a second for her maternal instincts to kick in, as she dropped what she was doing and embraced the distressed child.

"Sshh. It's alright, Legolas. Calm down, honey," she murmured into his delicate ear as she rubbed soothing circles into his back.

"Aurgell," he sobbed. "Manna Aurgell?" He looked tearfully up at the woman as he continued to question her about his guardian.

She was only able to look sadly down at him and shake her head in incomprehension. "I'm sorry, Sweety, but I don't know what you're askin'," she said before she noticed the weapon in the child's hand.

"Legolas! Did you cut yourself? Let me see!" she panicked, as she took the weapon away from the elfling and then attempted to see where he might be injured.

"BAW!" he screamed when his guardian's most treasured possession was taken away from him. He reached out and tried to take it back from the woman, nearly climbing up her skirts to get a hold of it, while she held it up over her head and out of reach.

"Legolas, stop at that at once!" she scolded, as she pushed the elfling's hands down and off of her. She meant to be gentle, but she forgot how light the elfling really was and ended up pushing him down onto his butt.

Silence filled the room as Legolas stared up at her is hurt shock before his sobs renewed as he ran to the door in an attempt to leave the house. He no longer cared how nice these people seemed to be. The only thing he cared about now was going home to his ada and finding out where Aurgell was. It didn't matter if he would have to search the whole forest by himself, he would find his way home.

"Oh, Legolas, honey, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to push ya down like that, I jus' didn't want ya to hurt yourself with the knife," Erima said, as she tried to sooth the child, while at the same time trying to figure out what the original problem was.

It was at that moment, with Legolas fumbling with the door knob when Fonter came in. He stumbled back a step as Legolas crashed into his legs in an attempt to slip past and outside.

"What in Heaven's name is going on here?" he exclaimed, as he reached down and snatched the child that was desperately trying to squirm past him.

Legolas screeched in protest and hopelessly wiggled in his grip in an attempt to get down from the man's arms. In response, Fonter just tightened his grip before stepping inside and closing the front door with his foot. He looked up to give his wife a dumbfounded look, only to notice the knife that was still in her hand. Just like Legolas, he too recognized the knife, and everything suddenly made sense to him.

"He got into our room, didn't he?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"I don't know! The lamb jus' ran up to me with the knife in his hand, so I thought that he cut 'imself, but he threw a fit when I took it from 'im," she hurriedly explained, as though she were afraid she would get in trouble.

Fonter nodded as he rubbed soothing circles into the screaming child's back. He sat down on the couch, holding the elfling tightly in his arms, and motioned for his wife to sit next to them.

"I think he finally knows that his da is not comin' back. That knife belonged to the elf we found 'im clinging to. He didn't seem to understand that they were dead," Fonter explained, while Erima looked down at the distressed child in sudden sympathy.

"The poor little lamb," she cooed, as she reached over and hugged the child to herself, as she tried to comfort him.

For the following couple days, Legolas again refused to eat, but Fonter and Erima never ceased in their attempts to get the child to eat. It was obvious to all that his reasons for his fasting were for a much different reason than previously. He confined himself to his room unless one of the adults carried him out, and even then he refused to acknowledge anything around him. Smiles could no longer be seen to light up his face; in fact, nothing about him seemed to glow anymore. Even Farha couldn't get the child to open up.

It wasn't until the third day, when the aroma of sugar baked apples filled the house, that Legolas peaked his head around the doorframe of his room.

Erima looked down in surprise when she felt a light tugging on her skirts, only to smile brightly when she noticed the elfling looking shyly up at her.

"Well, 'ello there, Legolas. I was hoping that the smell migh' lure ya out here. Although I couldn't be certain," she said, as she bent down and lifted the tiny child up to sit on the counter in front of her. From there, she gave the boy a piece of the sweet treat.

"Hannad," he whispered before he began to devour his snack hungrily.

"I know you mus' be feeling jus' miserable, but it will get better. Not now, but eventually," she said as she gently hugged him to herself.

He sniffed, and she cupped the back of his head and pressed him into herself in an attempt of comfort. Tears fell freely from his innocent eyes for a minute or two before he finally managed to gather himself.

Legolas still didn't truly understand what happened to his heart brother, but one thing was clear to him; he wouldn't be seeing Aurgell for a long, long time. It would be okay, though, because he would see Aurgell again someday, just like his Ada said that they would see his Nana one day. He didn't know why they left, but the reasons didn't really matter, all that mattered was that they were gone, but he would see them again.

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"What does it look like down there?" the captain asked as one of his scouts came up over a ridge.

It had been nearly two weeks since they discovered the clearing where the young princes' abduction took place. It's been hard going, since just about any signs they could have tracked were washed away with the winter showers, but they finally discovered a camp on the outskirts of the forest.

"Just a group of travelers, of about five or six men. There was no sign of them," he answered regretfully.

Disappointment descended like a cloud over the group. They had found no sign of the orcs or any of the missing elves. "Should we not ask one of these edian if they have seen a sign of the young prince?" an elf asked.

The captain considered for a moment before nodding. "Yes. Take to the trees around their camp and keep your arms at ready. I shall go down to question them once you are in place and I hear a signal in the form of a swallow's song."

The elves bowed before disappearing into the thick foliage of the trees around them. He waited for a for minutes before a swallow's singing could be heard.

Having received the signal, the captain cautiously made his way down the ridge and approached upon the men's camp.

"Good evening gentlemen," he said in a way of announcing his presence to them.

They all turned from their spot around their fire to face him before their leader returned the greeting. "A good evening to you as well fair elf. Would you wish to join us by our fire this night and share with us a merry time?" he questioned, as he gestured to the warm flames behind him.

"I very much wish I could join with you and have a merry time, alas I must decline your kind offer, for my time in this area must be short, you see I am searching for a band of orcs that may have passed through near this place. I came to greet you in hopes that you might share with me any news of them you may have."

The men frowned as they exchanged looks with one another before the leader turned once again to answer the elf. "I am saddened to tell you, master elf, that we do not have the information that seak. We have not seen any orcs, or any signs of orcs in our travels in or around you great forest."

The elf gave a slight sigh of disappointment. "That is indeed saddening to hear, but I thank you for your honesty, nonetheless. Enjoy your merry making gentlemen," he said before leaving with a quick bow of his head.

After retreating from the clearing and into the cover of the trees, he whistled a swallow's song, and the elves of the patrol returned to their captain.

"There is no news on the whereabouts of our young prince," he regretfully informed. "We will continue our way west along the forest road." With that said, they all turned and silently continued down the path.

 **Manna Aurgell? - (Literal translation) Where Morning-joy?**

 **Baw - No**

 **Hannad - Thanks**

 **Edian- Men**

 **Hello, everyone. I am sooo sorry this took so long. I'm rather embarrassed to say that I kind of forgot about this story.**

 **You all have my adorable niece to thank for my remembrance. She found this story online then was complaining to me about how she wished the author would finish. (however, she holds little hope they would) What's funny is that she doesn't know That her awesome aunt is the author to "the absolutely best fluff she has ever read." (her words not mine)**

 **I shall try to be more attentive to this story. Again, I'm very sorry about the delay.**

 **Oh, just in case you were wondering, yes I am basically all better now. I just feel a little sore from time to time. I also have a really cute story tell if you are willing to read.**

 **One day while my leg and hand were still broken, my mom just brought me home from a doctor's appointment. I love my home very much, however, it is not very cripple friendly. You see, the house is built into the side of a hill, so to get to just about any door to the house I have to climb a substantial number of stairs.**

 **So, what I often did was sit down and kind of butt shuffle my way up or down. (I can sense you smiling already. It's okay, it looked ridiculous, you can laugh all you want. My mom did.) Anyway, one day I was butt shuffling my way up the stairs after my doctor's appointment when my neighbor across the street spotted me. (he is a super sweet man and a regular attendant at the gym) He saw me and immediately ran over. My dreams of becoming a princess came true as he scooped me up off of the ground and carried me up the stairs and into my house.**

 **He then told me if I ever need help with the stairs again, I could call him and he would be there to help. I love my neighbors so much. They are all super sweet and kind. It's unfortunate that he's already married :(**

 **Anyway, thank you all for 'listening' to my story. And thank you for your patience with me.**

 **You are all beautiful people! :)**


	6. White Fluff

**Hello, I'm sorry about the long wait. Unfortunately, life is a real thing, that keeps us busy.**

 **Before I start with the story I'm just going to do something I haven't done before and didn't think was necessary considering that this is a Fanfiction site. By definition, it is a site where fans post stories about their favorite characters.**

 **Any way. Shocker! I'm not, in fact, JRR Tolkien; nor am I a part of the Tolkien Estate or United Artists.**

 **Someone was concerned that I was trying to pirate his characters… I'm not. This was the third claim I have received that I was trying to plagiarize.**

 **I had to laugh at the second claim because I was so confused. I seriously can't see any sort of connections so if any you can see them I would love to know what the similarities are. The claim was that this story is a rip off of the Lion King… I don't see it.**

 **Reviews: I realize I forgot to do this with my last chapter.**

 **Person: I'm sorry it took so long, but I have no plans on giving up on this story.**

 **Issy: here's more! :)**

 **Andy the willow tree: My Niece says "don't mention it" I'm glad you are a fan of my work.**

 **StarFilledSkys: I'm glad you like the story! I'm sorry my updates take so long, but I assure you I have no intention of just letting this story die.**

 **UltimateNinjaOfDoom: Thank you for all the love. I am completely better, thanks to the amazing people around me. Just like myself, little Legolas should be doing better in his situation.**

 **Guest: when will daddy Thranduil take Legolas Home, you ask? I will never tell! HAHAHA ;)**

 **Hawaiichick: Oh, Wow! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm so happy you like the story so much. To be Honest, the scene with Vixed was one of my favorite to write.**

 **Guest(2): Worry not. I will finish this.**

 **Horsegirl01: I'm so glad you still like the story, and yes I'm completely better now thanks to all the love I get from those around me. There most definitely will be more Angst in this story. Maybe not so much in this chapter, but I do have some big plans for our little elfling.**

 **Reya202: I'm very glad to hear that you like the story. Worry not, I will not abandon this story! As for your questions, no Thranduil does not have any sort of power to tell what is happening to his child, other than the power of a parent's worry. As for the second question, sorry, no answer for you. ;)**

 **Guest(3): I'm glad you think my story is neat.**

 **Lord Illyren: I'm glad my personal life is amusing to others as well as to myself. I love to makes others laugh, so my life mission is complete! ;)**

 **Whyamiobsessed: Here's your update! :)**

 **CloudCarnivore: Continuing!**

 **ZelieHorse1: Yes yes yes. I'm continuing, And I don't know. Dose Thranduil ever find Legolas? ;)**

 **OdeFromParis: Thanks! Glad you love it. :)**

 **Bob: you're welcome. I'm glad you think it's cute. :)**

 **The12thBookworm: I'm glad you love it. Here's your update.**

 **Thanks again to all of you for your reviews! you are all beautiful people! :)**

 **Now please enjoy...**

 **Chapter 6**

They say that time heals all wounds, and in part they are correct. Legolas still got emotional at night, and every now and then he would ask for his "Arugell," but he again began to act as a child should. He played in the yard and ate the food given to him. He would laugh and giggle when one of the adults would entertain him, or when he chased around the animals.

Days turned to weeks, and finally, the weeks turned to a month, and with the passage of time, the weather too progressed to put the world to sleep by freezing the land.

One morning, Fonter rose to leave and attend to his chores with a little shadow following him, as what was now normal. However, this morning, he had to work harder to open the door; leaning his weight against it to force it forwards.

When it finally did open, a world of white was there to greet them, with the sun shining off of the snow like glittering crystals.

Upon seeing this new world, a squawk sounded from behind Fonter's bulk, and small hands gripped the back of his shirt.

The man looked down at the little elfling in surprise to see him looking at the white world outside with large eyes. He laughed fondly as he reached down and patted the boy on the head.

"I guess with 'ow thick the trees are in your forest home, you 'aven't ever seen snow, now 'ave you?" He chuckled as he reached down and lifted the boy to sit on his hip.

He took several steps outside before lowering the child to stand on his own two feet. Expecting Legolas just to fall through the foot of snow on the ground, he kept both his hands around the child's waist so he wouldn't just disappear, which is why he was taken by such surprise when the elfling simply stood on the surface of the snow; leaving only the faintest of footprints on the pristine surface. He released the child's waist and watched in amazement as the elfling walked effortlessly across the surface of snow.

Legolas looked curiously at the white glitter on the ground before reaching down and picking up a hand full. He giggled in surprise as he made the discovery as to how cold the substance was. Being the child he was, after feeling it in his hands for a moment, he stuck a clump into his mouth, before spitting it back out.

"Ring," the child exclaimed, before looking down at his hand. "Mesc," he announced, as he pointed out the tiny water droplets on his hand to Fonter. The man laughed as he watched the child wander around happily in the snow.

"Come, Legolas," he commanded as he led the way to the barn.

The elfling followed at a leisurely pace as he hopped over the top of the snow. Once they reached the barn, Legolas ran inside and scampered over to the horse's stall while babbling on about the new thing he discovered.

The large animal graced him with a glance as his ears swiveled forwards to listen to the child's voice.

That was something Fonter discovered that he liked about the small boy. Despite his running about, he never spooked the animals on the small farm. Quite the opposite in fact. Every time he spoke, the animals seemed to calm and listen to him. They would approach when he held out a curious hand, or even play with him when he would chase them about. The horse would nibble at his hair, or playfully bump him with his snout. The chickens would cluck and scuttle about as he ran after them, even the old cow would bump him with her large head, or swish her tail at him.

Today, however, Legolas seemed more inclined to show his animal friends the snow. Fonter watched in amusement as the small boy zipped off to the barn doors to scoop up a handful of snow only to return a second later to give it to one of the animals. The horse ate the snow offered to him, which ignited a squealing giggle from the boy. The cow ignored her share, and Legolas had fun with the chickens by scattering the snow on the ground and watching as they flapped after it.

With a smile on his face, Fonter turned back to his work, of repairing one of the barn stalls and left Legolas to his play.

However, after a while, Fonter noticed that the barn had gotten strangely quiet.

Concerned, he turned around only to realize that the child was no longer in sight.

"Legolas?" he called as slight panic began to overtake him. "Legolas?"

He's probably just hiding in the hay, He assured himself. He continued to look around inthe barn,yet was unable to locate the child.

It was then that he heard a loud bark from outside. He felt his stomach drop as he recalled one crucial fact. They didn't have a dog.

Hurriedly, he ran out the large door, grabbing a pitchfork on the way. Once outside, he was greeted with the sight of a beautiful gray wolf leaning down to sniff at the top of Legolas' head. The child giggled and reached up to pet the canine's snout, only to jump in surprise when Fonter released a roar of a shout and stabbed the pitchfork towards the wolf.

The wolf yelped and ran off into the forest, while Legolas stood frozen in shock, staring blankly in the direction his new friend had run.

"Legolas!" Fonter exclaimed, as he ran up and grasped the child's wrist to turn the boy and make sure the wolf didn't hurt him.

Of course, the elfling was just fine. The wolf had simply felt the child's presence and approached out of curiosity, no animal of nature would ever intentionally harm an elfling; of course, Fonter didn't know that.

The door to the house opened as Erima poked her head out to see what all the commotion was about.

"What do ya think you're doing, causing such a racket? You made me drop a plate!" she scolded.

"There was a wolf 'ere about to attack Legolas!" he said, as he continued to look the wide-eyed boy over for injury.

"What now?" she shrieked, as she grabbed her skirts and bustled through the snow over to them. She cupped the child's face in both of her hands and took in his still spooked expression. "Poor thing. That wolf must have really scared ya, didn't he?"

Legolas looked at them both in confusion. He was finally getting over Fonter's startling shout, but why were they both looking at him so strangely? He didn't get it.

"Alright. That's enough adventure for ya today. You're gonna stay inside with me now," Erima said. She then snatched the child from the snow and held him close as she led the way into the warm home.

After the noon meal, Fonter once again put on his cloak to go back outside and finish his chores of the day. Every time Fonter went towards the door, it was like an unspoken cue for the elfling to follow, however, this time Erima held him back.

"No no, Legolas. Stay," she commanded, as she gently reached down to steer him away.

"Out. An ngell nîn teilia," Legolas protested, as he reached one hand towards the door.

"Sorry, Legolas, but ya have to stay in 'ere with me. Besides, I miss your company," she said, as she once again took Legolas away. He pouted for a moment, before complying and wandering over to his toys on the floor. He picked up the wolf and looked at it forlornly for a moment, before picking up the other toys and arranging them into a way he liked.

After the scare with the wolf, Fonter and Erima were quite hesitant to allow Legolas back outside, so for the next two weeks or so they kept the child indoors. It was finally Farah that convinced them to let the child outside once again.

There was a knock on the door of the cozy home nestled between the two sleeping oaks. The three inhabitants of the house had just finished their noon meal, and they all looked up at the light sound before Fonter stood with a slight grunt to answer it.

Upon opening the door, his legs were assaulted by an energetic, bright eyed, boy.

"Unc, Wonter!" Roy crowed, then ran around him to get to Legolas who stood from the floor, where he was playing with his toys.

The two greeted each other with a quick hand clapping game, which was now their typical greeting of each other.

Roy's older sister then entered the house with an exaggerated shiver. "Burr! It's getting colder out there," she exclaimed, as she rubbed her arms under her thick cloak. "How's everyone doing?" she asked, as Fonter closed the door behind her.

"Things are going well here. How is your family fairing in this season?" Erima asked as she stood to greet the younger woman.

"Oh, we are doing just fine, only Roy was getting quite bored, and wants to play with Legolas out in the snow.

The couple looked at each other for a moment, silently asking the other if that was acceptable.

"Well… I guess that would be alright, but only if Fonter went out with them," Erima said.

Roy squealed in delight and grabbed his elven friend's hand to drag him towards the door. Farha quickly snatched the back of his cloak, to keep him still for a moment while she pulled two pairs of small gloves out of pocket in her apron. "Roy, aren't ya forgetting something?"

"Cover up, don't freeze up," he recited, as he grabbed a pair for himself while handing the second to Legolas.

Once both boys had sufficiently been bundled up, they dashed to the yard, with Fonter following at a leisurely pace. Once in the yard, Roy bent over to scoop up a clump of snow and form it into a ball, before throwing it at Legolas.

With a gasp of surprise, Legolas ducked down to avoid the frozen projectile. Quickly catching on to this new game, he too made a snow ball and managed to hit Roy's arm.

The boys played together for some hours until the whole front yard was littered with small footprints, forts, snow creatures, and small holes. While the two were playing, Roy quickly noticed how Legolas stayed on the top of the snow, and tried his best to imitate the elfling, but failed in every attempt, and ended up thigh deep in the snow. They played until Roy was shivering from cold, and Legolas' ears and nose were a bright cherry red. They even managed to drag Fonter into their play, by gaining up on the man and throwing snowy projectiles at him.

Once Roy began to shiver, Fonter lifted the small boy from his spot in the deep snow and called for Legolas to follow them inside the warm house.

Upon entering the house, all three of the boys were stripped of their wet clothes, bundled up in warm blankets, and handed warm mugs of tea.

The two young boy sat next to each other on the floor in front of the fire, while Fonter pulled up one of the wooden kitchen chairs. Roy babbled excitedly about their day in the snow, while Legolas sat with his mug and listened contently to the foreign sounds coming from his friend's mouth.

Although he was getting better with this new language, he still didn't know much beyond simple commands. He knew when he was being called, or if he was being told to go somewhere. He knew if he was being told "yes" or "no", and other simple things like that, but conversation was completely lost on him.

In return, the adults were beginning to understand Legolas. Although they didn't understand the meaning of his words, they generally could tell what he wanted by a combination of his tone and body language.

Farha smiled in amusement as she watched Legolas listen attentively to her younger brother. Then a frown marred her face as she noticed that the child's pointed ears were still a bright cherry red. Leaning down, she moved a warm hand to either side of his head and covered his frozen ears.

Upon feeling contact on one of the most sensitive parts of his body, Legolas squealed in startled protest and ducked his head away from her warm hands.

Farha lifted a brow in surprise at the child's reaction. "I'm sorry, sweety, but your ears are like little blocks of ice. I jus' wanna warm them up before they fall off!" she said, as she once again moved in, to cover his ears with her hands.

Never before had anyone touched his ears like that before. Sometimes his Ada would massage an ear when he was being sung to and tucked into bed, and sometimes one of his caretakers would give him a gentle swat to the ear when he was misbehaving, but he never had anyone hold both of them at the same time; it felt weird.

He again pulled away from her hands and pulled his blanket up over his head to hide from her hands. She giggled lightly at the child's skittishness as she again held her hands over his ears, but this time with the barrier of the blanket between her hands. This he didn't seem to mind too much and allowed Farha to warm his ears while he continued to watch Roy talk, and sip at his warm drink.

"Sounds like you boys 'ad fun," Erima said, as Roy brought a close to his animated story. Fonter chuckled as he leaned back in his chair with a fond nod at the boy.

"Yep, we all 'ad a good day," he agreed as he ruffled both of the boys' hair, as he stood up from his chair. From there he wandered over to his wife and placed a kiss on her cheek before grabbing his cloak once more.

"I'm going to tend to the animals one las' time tonight," he said, before stepping back outside.

"Roy and I should be getting home," Farha said. She then bent over and kissed the top of the head she held in her hands. "Bu-bye Legolas," she smiled as she stood and took Roy's hand. "Say bye, Roy," she said, as she began to lead them out.

"Bu-bye," he cheered, as he gave his friend a tight hug, before running up to Erima and giving her a fierce hug as well.

With that, the two siblings left for their own home.

"And it's bedtime for you, little one," Erima said. She collected Legolas' empty mug, before taking his hand and leading him into his room.

This was one of their favorite parts of the day. They now had a bedtime routine that worked well for the both of them, and gave them both a little bonding time, just like how Legolas and Fonter had a morning bonding routine.

Erima first helped Legolas into a long sleeping tunic and folded down the sheets on the bed. After he crawled up onto the mattress, she tucked the sheets snuggly around him along with a stuffed toy rabbit she had recently made.

Since discovering Legolas' fear of thunderstorms, she decided that it would be beneficial to have something soft and cuddly for him to hold in the night. She had spent three days making the toy from some of the pelts they had saved. She even sent Fonter into the small village to bye some buttons so she could give the toy eyes. The result was a very happy elfling, who refused to release the toy for the following two weeks until Erima convinced the boy to leave the rabbit in the bedroom to cuddle with at night.

She loved that Legolas loved it so much, but already she had to repair a few ripped seams as well as clean dirt and straw out of its fur since he would bring it with him into the barn. Now it was simply his bedtime companion or his storm friend.

After Legolas settled himself down in his bed with his friend, Erima settled down in a chair next to him and began to sing softly. Gently, she stroked his soft head, until his eyes glazed over in elven sleep. With a smile on her face, she carefully bent over and kissed his brow, before quietly exiting the room.

"He's asleep?" Fonter asked from his place by the fire. Erima nodded with a light smile on her face.

"Yes, he's 'ad a busy day," she said, as she moved her arms to encircle his neck from behind.

Fonter nodded in agreement. "It's been awhile since I last built a fort in the snow with a little one. It's going to be 'ard to see 'im go, love."

Erima nodded as well. Since entering their household, Legolas has added so much life and excitement. It would be hard going back to a quiet house.

"Come on, love. Let's get onto bed. It'll be a good tomorrow, you'll see," He said as he stood and gave his wife an affectionate kiss.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Thranduil elf king was desperate. Not that anyone could tell. To all who saw him he appeared as the proud and powerful warrior he was. However, everyone was very careful in how they approached and spoke to the king, for he was very quick to anger.

No, no one knew that Thranduil was desperate, but everyone knew that he was worried about his son.

He was currently standing over a map rolled out over a table, and listening to his captain as he spoke and gestured to the map.

"Our patrols have searched all nearby settlements, that we know about. All of them report that they have seen no signs of the prince or his escort, and only three report having seen orcs," he said as he pointed out the locations of the three settlements.

"Have we received word back from either Imladris or Lothlórien?" the king asked.

"Yes, my lord. Both realms have agreed to aid us in the search for our young prince. However, our own borders are beginning to shrink. We can not continue the search as fiercely as we did in the start, without losing more of our land. We need our four best patrols on our southern border."

He spoke simply, yet his voice was sympathetic, for he knew that he was not talking to only to his king, but a father as well.

"But those are the patrols out looking for my son," Thranduil protested.

"I know, my lord. They have been searching non stop for a little over two months now. Their absence is showing in the security of our borders."

"What are you suggesting then?"

"We need to center our attention back upon the defense of the realm. The patrols should always have their eyes open for any sign of the prince, however, their main objective should be the elimination of threats to our homes," he said regretfully.

"Then all of the patrols will be out in the woods. Who will look for my child?" The king's voice never rose in volume, but by the way, his captain cringed, you would think that the king was screaming into the elf's ear.

"With all due respect, my lord; what good is it to bring Legolas home, when there is no home to return to?"

A pregnant silence hung in the air, as the king stood back to think, with his eyes staring unseeingly at the map before him. He desperately wanted to scream and rage, demanding that his son be brought back into his arms that moment, but he knew that was not going to happen. His love for his son was unquestionable, however, he was a king first and foremost. With his heart feeling like it was being crushed in a vice, he nodded numbly, like a stringed puppet.

"Call off the search, and set each patrol where they are most needed," and with that, the mighty king of Mirkwood turned with a flourish of his elegant robes and walked away.

Only once he was safely behind the door of his chambers did he allow himself to grieve. Collapsing into a plush chair in front of the cold hearth, he dug long fingers into his golden hair. A single tear managed to escape his closed eyes as he tried fruitlessly to push away the burning pain in his heart.

"Ay. Legolas, forgive me," he cried. Rising on unsteady legs, he stumbled over to his desk where a bottle of wine sat. not even bothering with the goblet that sat next to it, the king pulled the stopper from the bottle and drank directly from it.

The familiar taste helped to soothe the distraught father, as he made his way back to the chair. Gradually, the chamber got darker as night began to approach, but the king made no move to leave his spot, only taking slow sips of the wine.

A memory suddenly came unbidden to his mind. It was the memory of Legolas' first taste of Thranduil's favorite drink.

It was during the last Mereth Nuin Giliath. The whole kingdom was having a grand time with song, dance, and drink. It seemed as though every elf in the realm was having at least one glass of Mirkwood's famous wine; every elf with the exception of Legolas who was still much too young for such a potent drink. The elfling detested fearsly to that fact and badgered his father throughout the night for a taste from the king's goblet. Eventually, Thranduil gave in and sat his son on his lap and gave the boy a sip of his favorite wine.

Immediately after tasting the wine, Legolas screw his face up in disgust and gagged at the wine's aftertaste. The king erupted with his mirth and waved a servant over to give his son some plain grape juice to wash away the wine.

In a sudden fit of rage, the king stood from his chair in front of the cold fireplace and hurled the near empty wine bottle at the wall, where it promptly shattered. The shards then fell to meet the cold stone floor with a mournful tinkle.

With the memory of his son came the reminder that this year's Mereth Nuin Giliath would be taking place in only a week's time. If felt immensely wrong to him to celebrate such an important and joyful holiday without his son, yet as the king, he was expected to host the celebration as was tradition.

Tears fell in a small stream from his shining eyes. "Please. Please bring my little leaf home!" he cried.

 **Ring - cold**

 **Mesc- wet**

 **An ngell nîn- please (For my joy) Teilia- play (basically, he wants to go out and play)**

 **Mereth Nuin Giliath- Feast of starlight**


End file.
